Somalia

The EU's training of the Afghan police force that Our Leader states is so vital for any exit strategy is evidently in such a mess that it is having to be taken over by NATO, financed by the US. The New York Times tells us that:

Two and a half years after it was started, the European Union’s police training mission in Afghanistan is understaffed, lacks adequate security and transportation, and has yet to develop a uniform training program and ..... is a logistical nightmare.

Sailing on
While the world's financial system is in meltdown our government in Brussels has been busy keeping to its timetable.

There's been more bullying of Eire regarding its NO vote and a couple of remarkable quotes arise from this. Jean-Luc Dehaene, former Belgian Prime Minister, has declared that the Irish government should simply ratify the Lisbon Treaty in Parliament, claiming that the legal ground on which Ireland has to hold referendums on EU treaties is disputable. He said:

"whoever thinks that a vote in parliament is less democratic then a referendum has a lifelong problem with democracy".